Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Advanced
Title details for Chuck Berry by RJ Smith - Available

Chuck Berry

by RJ Smith
Phil Morris
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
The definitive biography of Chuck Berry, legendary performer and inventor of rock and roll
Best known as the groundbreaking artist behind classics like "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "You Never Can Tell" and "Roll Over Beethoven," Chuck Berry was a man of wild contradictions, whose motives and motivations were often shrouded in mystery. After all, how did a teenage delinquent come to write so many songs that transformed American culture? And, once he achieved fame and recognition, why did he put his career in danger with a lifetime's worth of reckless personal behavior? Throughout his life, Berry refused to shed light on either the mastery or the missteps, leaving the complexity that encapsulated his life and underscored his music largely unexplored—until now.
In Chuck Berry, biographer RJ Smith crafts a comprehensive portrait of one of the great American entertainers, guitarists, and lyricists of the 20th century, bringing Chuck Berry to life in vivid detail. Based on interviews, archival research, legal documents, and a deep understanding of Berry's St. Louis (his birthplace, and the place where he died in March 2017), Smith sheds new light on a man few have ever really understood. By placing his life within the context of the American culture he made and eventually withdrew from, we understand how Berry became such a groundbreaking figure in music, erasing racial boundaries, crafting subtle political commentary, and paying a great price for his success. While celebrating his accomplishments, the book also does not shy away from troubling aspects of his public and private life, asking profound questions about how and why we separate the art from the artist.
Berry declined to call himself an artist, shrugging that he was good at what he did. But the man's achievement was the rarest kind, the kind that had social and political resonance, the kind that made America want to get up and dance. At long last, Chuck Berry brings the man and the music together.
Expand title description text
Publisher: Hachette Audio Edition: Unabridged

OverDrive Listen audiobook

  • ISBN: 9781549194740
  • File size: 402541 KB
  • Release date: November 8, 2022
  • Duration: 13:58:37

MP3 audiobook

  • ISBN: 9781549194740
  • File size: 402593 KB
  • Release date: November 8, 2022
  • Duration: 14:04:29
  • Number of parts: 14
Loading
Loading

Formats

OverDrive Listen audiobook
MP3 audiobook

subjects

Biography & Autobiography Music Performing Arts Nonfiction

Languages

English

The definitive biography of Chuck Berry, legendary performer and inventor of rock and roll
Best known as the groundbreaking artist behind classics like "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "You Never Can Tell" and "Roll Over Beethoven," Chuck Berry was a man of wild contradictions, whose motives and motivations were often shrouded in mystery. After all, how did a teenage delinquent come to write so many songs that transformed American culture? And, once he achieved fame and recognition, why did he put his career in danger with a lifetime's worth of reckless personal behavior? Throughout his life, Berry refused to shed light on either the mastery or the missteps, leaving the complexity that encapsulated his life and underscored his music largely unexplored—until now.
In Chuck Berry, biographer RJ Smith crafts a comprehensive portrait of one of the great American entertainers, guitarists, and lyricists of the 20th century, bringing Chuck Berry to life in vivid detail. Based on interviews, archival research, legal documents, and a deep understanding of Berry's St. Louis (his birthplace, and the place where he died in March 2017), Smith sheds new light on a man few have ever really understood. By placing his life within the context of the American culture he made and eventually withdrew from, we understand how Berry became such a groundbreaking figure in music, erasing racial boundaries, crafting subtle political commentary, and paying a great price for his success. While celebrating his accomplishments, the book also does not shy away from troubling aspects of his public and private life, asking profound questions about how and why we separate the art from the artist.
Berry declined to call himself an artist, shrugging that he was good at what he did. But the man's achievement was the rarest kind, the kind that had social and political resonance, the kind that made America want to get up and dance. At long last, Chuck Berry brings the man and the music together.
Expand title description text
Biography & Autobiography Music Performing Arts Nonfiction
  • Details

    Publisher:
    Hachette Audio
    Edition:
    Unabridged

    OverDrive Listen audiobook
    ISBN: 9781549194740
    File size: 402541 KB
    Release date: November 8, 2022
    Duration: 13:58:37

    MP3 audiobook
    ISBN: 9781549194740
    File size: 402593 KB
    Release date: November 8, 2022
    Duration: 14:04:29
    Number of parts: 14

  • Creators
  • Formats
    OverDrive Listen audiobook
    MP3 audiobook
  • Languages
    English
  • Reviews
    Loading
    Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now